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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. ó Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Larry Brown are among the whoís who list of stars who agreed today to help choose the menís Olympic basketball team for the United States.

Other former players on the list this week included David Robinson, Charles Barkley, Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson. Other coaches included Dean Smith, Bob Knight, John Thompson and Chuck Daly.

They say Olympic team, i wonder if they mean the team for the qualifers and the World Championships. The rest of the world considers that to be the biggest event, it's about time we did the same. I like that they are taking this more seriously than they have before. So how bout it, who's your picks t be on the team? You know for sure Shaq won't be playing, Duncan hates FIBA (can't blame him) that leaves the US without 2 of the best players in the world. I also don't expect Kobe to accept an invite.

My team, I based this on how the world plays the game and players i think could fit into a team concept.

Coaches
Coach K
Mike D'Antoni
Tubby Smith

I like these Coaches because they all demand respect. The college game is more like the international game, i figured college coaches would have a better feel on how to develop game plans.

Players

Amare
Garnett
Lebron
Hamilton
Bibby

Bench
B.Miller
J.O'Neal
R.Allen
Wade
C.Billups
S. Marion
K. Hinrich

Before you go off with your "ahhh this guy is stupid...he didn't put ___________ on the team" Let me explain my picks. I watch alot of the US teams losses over the past 3 years, most of them were due to them not playing together and not being able to shoot worth a damn. I'm still not convinced that the world is even with us, when we put a competant team on the court. I wanted to pick guys that are not one trick ponies unless they can shoot. Ben Wallace for as great as he is, imo would not be that much of a factor. On the offensive end, we'd be playing 4 on 5 for the most part.

Most of these guys are great at two things atleast. KG has the total package, y'all just seen Amare play toe to toe with the best player in the world, evenly. Lebron's jumpshot is improving, and his D will improve this year under Mike Brown. Rip is a guy that can hit that mid range J, and with the shorter 3pt line, can give the US a outside shooter. Bibby played great in the 03 qualifers, i think he'd be the perfect pg for the team.

The bench has a mix of guys that can play D, and step out and knock down a wide open jumpshot. Brad Miller adds something to the team that they didn't have in 04 (no, not a white player) a guy that can shoot the 15 footer, while guys like JO and Amare work in the paint. The guards are all decent shooters, Wade being maybe the worst but most explosive and best defender on the wings.

Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

Did you not read it? It's not like it's just those two. It's a large comittee filled with great basketball minds.

Yeah, I know, but those two names jumped out at me like a sore thumb. Combined with my unfondness of Bird, and the fact we have no reason to believe any of the other former players would be good at picking a team, I just don't see this going well.

When they named Collangelo in charge, I thought, "Well, he wouldn't be my first choice, but they need one person who's accountable." Ever since I've seen about 56,000 names added to the decision making process, which spells trouble.

D'Antoni's the coach because of his international experience. Langdon, Baston, & Cardinal would be happy to be there, allowing the coach to essentially play nine players, which is all you need to play. Langdon & Baston are American stars in Europe, which is why they're on the team.

D'Antoni's the coach because of his international experience. Langdon, Baston, & Cardinal would be happy to be there, allowing the coach to essentially play nine players, which is all you need to play. Langdon & Baston are American stars in Europe, which is why they're on the team.

D'Antoni may have international experience, but I don't want a head coach in the WBC who can't coach defense. Put him on the coaching staff, but don't make him the head coach.

Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

Wouldn't Baston be a foreign player or did he convert to an american?

"It's just unfortunate that we've been penalized so much this year and nothing has happened to the Pistons, the Palace or the city of Detroit," he said. "It's almost like it's always our fault. The league knows it. They should be ashamed of themselves to let the security be as lax as it is around here."

Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

Ron should be on the olympic team and if Larry is picking he would probably try to get him on the team. I dont want JO on the olympic teams anymore, he has trouble stay healthy as is, he doesnt need to go play extra bball.

Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

You guys are coming up with a lot of great players, but it is important to have a good mix of role players on teams like this too. We have had tons of talent during the last few Olympics, but we have had trouble getting guys to do the dirty work, and guys who can play together. We need talented and dominating guys for sure, but we need scrappy lunch pail people also. Even when you get the cream of the crop to surrender their egos, they sometimes struggle to fill roles that they are unaccustomed to.

Another thing that we have been missing, and which is absolutely crucial is guys that can flat out shoot. Pure scorers, particularly outside shooters are crucial to the international game. Guys like Chris Mullin, Steve Alford, Steve Kerr, etc. often do well in international play. Somebody mentioned Ray Allen, who is a great choice. Ironically, alot of the great shooters in the NBA are from foreign country's.

I also think we need some veteran leadership. I am sure all of these guys are considering these things. It would be wonderful to be able to overwhelm the world with talent, but the talent has gotten much better around the world, and we have trouble getting our most dominant players to participate.

One last thing, we have had a few threads discussing the durability of our players. Jermaine has stepped up to play for the USA many times before, but he may be more hesitant to do it now. Playing these extra games really does take an extra toll on these guys, and we are having trouble keeping our guys healthy for the NBA season.

I don't promise to have the answers, but just a couple of things to consider.

When you're playing against a stacked deck, compete even harder. Show the world how much you'll fight for the winners circle. If you do, someday the cellophane will crackle off a fresh pack, one that belongs to you, and the cards will be stacked in your favor.
-Pat Riley

Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

Last time it seemed like they lost because of no Perimeter shooting (accuracy) and most importantly, they absolutely had no Heart... it looked like they came to play just for fun you know... like "Hey lets go and dunk over some white dudes in Europe! I mean, they really cant play better Ball than us, muhahah!"... and then they got stabbed..

Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

i am really not too thrilled with this whole selction process. i believe we should have tryouts. i am sick of trying to throw a bunch of big names (or the biggest names who accept invites) at the situation and expect to win.
this process has (in my oppinion) been proven to be a failure. i want guys who really want to be there and are willing to accept their roles - not some crybabies or guys who want to be paid extra for this. with tryouts you get a better picture of how guys will play together rather than just giving slots to some big names and figure it will just work out somehow. it would weed out guys like melo and others because if they are whinning about p.t. and stuff in tryouts, they would just be sent packing and those who refuse to do what is wanted/needed won't make it.